On May 16 nearly 20,000 students will attend the Sun God Festival on
RIMAC Field. A UC San Diego tradition for the past thirty-two years,
Sun God is one of the best college music festivals in the country. The
vast majority of Tritons behave responsibly. Unfortunately, in the last
two years we have witnessed a rise in the number and severity of
problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption, including
hospitalizations and arrests.

Last August, a task force of students, administrators and staff began
meeting to address this problem. Working collaboratively, we have
launched a number of initiatives designed to ensure the health and
safety of our students. Among the most important are:

* Admission to the festival will be limited to currently registered UC
San Diego students. Wrist bands will be bar-coded and matched to
student PIDs.

* From Thursday evening until Saturday morning, entry to The Village and
I-House will be limited to residents of those facilities; entrance to
other campus residential facilities will be limited to currently
registered UC San Diego students.

* Under the banner "Our Choices, Our Traditions, Our Sun God Festival,"
a peer-to-peer education campaign has been launched to educate students
about the risks of excessive drinking and the importance of behaving
responsibly during Sun God.

* Over 500 undergraduates have received risk reduction training and
volunteered to help moderate student behavior during Sun God.

We believe that these initiatives will allow the Sun God Festival to
remain a safe, exciting and memorable part of every student's experience
at UC San Diego. If you would like additional information, please do
not hesitate to contact us at vcsa@ucsd.edu.